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Manitoba woodcarver creates pandemic-inspired artwork

A Manitoba woodcarver who is originally from Cross Lake First Nation is creating a new pandemic-inspired carving to serve as an inspiration during COVID-19.

A Manitoba woodcarver who is originally from Cross Lake First Nation is creating a new pandemic-inspired carving to serve as an inspiration during COVID-19.

Rick Hall has been a woodcarver for 13 years and has decided to make a carving related to COVID-19 that features the seven sacred teachings.

“My wife and I were sitting on a deck discussing another project when this pandemic-inspired carving came to mind,” he told the Winnipeg Sun June 1.

“We thought that the seven sacred teachings would fit with the current situation that we are in and that the piece would help people cope with the pandemic. The teachings not only applies to Aboriginal people but to everybody and that is why I think this piece is important,” he said.

Hall added that the piece features the Earth on top of an eagle with six other animals below it to showcase the seven sacred teachings.

“The eagle represents love. Its feathers will flair down encompassing the rest of the teachings which are the wolf as humility; bear representing courage; bison as respect; Sabe or bigfoot as honesty; turtle representing truth and beaver as wisdom,” he said.

“We decided to put the eagle as the focus because it signifies that without love, you cannot have the other six teachings. We need love to help us with what is happening today.”

Hall said the piece is seven feet tall and 24 inches in diameter.

“I started the carving three weeks ago and it would be done approximately three weeks from now. I have just finished putting preservatives on it and after that, I will paint it and continue putting on more preservatives,” he said.

“Sometimes, I walk away from a carving and come back with different inspirations. As the days go by, I will continue tweaking it here and there as this is a very special piece,” he added.

Hall hopes that he is able to get the carving out there for people to see when it is done.

“I want people to see, understand and learn from it. The carving will be a visual representation of what we have been through during the pandemic,” he said.

Nicole Wong covers northern and Indigenous issues for the Winnipeg Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.

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